Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Interview Template
Are customers satisfied, and why?
A customer satisfaction interview asks customers how your product fits into their day-to-day work and how satisfied they are with it, so you can see where it falls short and which workarounds they have built. If you can, hold the interview where they use the product, since their surroundings often show problems they would not think to mention.
Questions it can answer
- How well is the product meeting the needs of our customers?
- What opportunities are there to solve more customer needs?
- Where is our product failing to meet customer needs?
What is a customer satisfaction interview?
Customer satisfaction interviews are used to determine how a product fits into the life of the customer and ultimately how satisfied they are with it. Through understanding how the product is used by customers and how it fits into their real world life, opportunities to improve the product and solve new problems are uncovered. These interviews will also highlight failings of the product, where it doesn’t suit the needs of the customer, or where hacks and workarounds are used to compensate for shortcomings of the product.
Pro tip. If possible conduct the interview with the participant where they use the product. For instance if it’s a desk based application go to the office where they use it. If it’s a mobile based sales app, conduct the interview in the car where they usually use it. This not only helps the participant recall their usage better, but also provides a wealth of contextual information. For instance people having a sticky note on their screen of how to find a piece of information would indicate that something is difficult to find. Or a little book of passwords in their desk drawer indicates they might have too many login details to remember.
Related guide: For planning and running the conversations, see our user interviews guide.
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Example questions
There is no Great Question template for this method. These examples are guidance to adapt, not a template.
Can you tell me a little about your role and how [product] fits into it?
When did you last use [product]? Walk me through what you were doing.
What do you rely on [product] for most?
Overall, how satisfied are you with [product]? What makes you say that?
Which parts work well for you?
Where does [product] not do what you need?
Have you found any workarounds or extra steps to get things done? Can you show me?
What other tools do you use alongside [product], and for what?
If [product] disappeared tomorrow, what would you do instead?
If you could change one thing about [product], what would it be?
Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
Advantages
- Develop a deep understanding of how the product is being used.
- Understand what problems the product is solving for customers.
- Opportunities to explore the context around how the product is used.
Limitations
- Participants may struggle to recall how they use the product or forget to mention parts of the process, especially if it’s not a product they use regularly. If this is the case consider using an observational research method.
- Very time intensive to conduct the interviews and if participants use the product very differently analyzing the outcome can be difficult.
- Doesn’t explore potential solutions or concepts to resolve customer issues, this method only understands the current state.
Frequently asked questions
What questions should I ask in a customer satisfaction interview?
Ask about recent, specific use: what they were doing, what works, where the product falls short and which workarounds they rely on. Ask how satisfied they are, then follow up on why, since the reasons are what you can act on.
How is a satisfaction interview different from a CSAT or NPS survey?
A survey gives you a score from many customers. An interview explains the score with a few of them: how the product fits into their work, where it falls short and why. Many teams use survey answers to choose who to interview. See the NPS survey template.
Where should I hold a customer satisfaction interview?
Where the customer uses the product, if you can. Details like a sticky note of instructions on a screen show where the product is hard to use. If you can't be there, ask them to share their screen and show you.